A data center is a facility inside which are stored at least one of general or special purpose computers, servers, electronic data storage, telecommunication devices, and combinations thereof. These electronic components are typically stored in racks inside the data center. As would be understood, in order to operate, the electronic components need to be supplied with electricity. During operation of the electronic components, a major portion of the electricity used by the components is converted to heat.
In order for these components to operate efficiently, they have to operate in a controlled environment where there is very little dust and where the humidity and temperature are also controlled. As such, the heat generated by the electronic components has to be removed in order for the electronic components to operate within an acceptable range of temperature and to avoid failures of these components. The amount of power and the costs used for the removal of this heat is one of the major sources of power consumption and costs associated with the operation of data centers.
The efficiency of a data center is typically defined by a parameter referred to as the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). The PUE is the ratio of the total power consumed by the data center to the power consumed by the electronic components. As such, by reducing the amount of power necessary to cool the data center, the PUE of the data center also improves, which typically translates into lower operating costs.
Therefore, there is a need for a system for cooling a data center. There is also a need for a method of cooling a data center. There is also a need for a data center using such a system and/or method.